Engine starter mechanism



Fiied Aug. 1. 1951 June 953 w. P. DALRYMPLE 2,642,055

ENGINE STARTER MECHANISM 5 Sheet's-She et 1 1N VEN TOR.

ZQY/ll'an; PDa/r ymp/e A TTOENE Y6 June 16, 1953 w. P. DALRYMPLE2,342,055

ENGINE STARTER MECHANISM Filed Aug. '1. 1951 5 gum -sheet '2 BY Z/M M 64A TTOENEYS Filed Aug. 1'. 1951 June 16, 53 w. P. DALRYMPI .E 2,542,055

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ENGINE STARTER MECHANISM Filed Aug. 1. 1951 5SheetsFSheet 4 Inventor Iwill/am P. @G/Qymp/e Patented June 16, 1 953 ENGINE STARTER MECHANISMWilliam P. Dalrymple, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to American Brake ShoeCompany, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application August1, 1951, Serial No. 239,790

- 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to starter mechanism for power units of the kindused for bicycles or tricycles, and particularly the invention relatestosuch starters of the kick or foot operated type.

In my copending application, Serial No. 183,177, filed September 5,1950, there is disclosed a power unit that is particularly adapted foruse as the propulsion means in a wheeled vehicle such as a bicycle or atricycle and the starter mechanism of the present invention adaptedparticularly for use in association with power units of the generalcharacter disclosed in myaforesaid copending application. In such powerunit, a driving engine of the internal combustion type is afforded, aswell as power transmission means including clutch means, and all ofthese elements are arranged within the periphery of the wheel that is tobe driven by such power unit, and the starter mechanism of the presentinvention is adapted for association with the power transmission meansof such a unit in such a way that the starter mechanism may be utilizedto impart starting movements to the internal combustion engine thatforms part of the power unit.

An important object of the present invention is to afiord a kick orfoot-power starter mechanism that is simple and effective in itsconstruction, and which is adapted to be readily associated with anelement of the power transmission in such a power unit. Moreparticularly it is an object of the present invention to afiord such astarter mechanism wherein theoperating elements are simple and sturdy inconstruction and in which the starter elements are effectuallymaintained in their disengaged relationship during engine operation.Other and further objects are to aiiord such a mechanism wherein thefoot operated crank element may be maintained in a selectedout-of-the-way position when not in use.

Other and further objects vention will be apparent from the followingdescription and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawingswhich, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider tobe the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles.Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalentprinciples may be used and structural changes may be made as desired bythose skilled in the art without departing from the present inventionand the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view taken through aower unit of the present inadapted for use with a 2 wheeled vehicle suchas a tricycle or a bicycle, and embodying the starter mechanism of thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view showing the startermechanism in association with the power transmission-mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a view showing a portion of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view taken from the left inFig. 3; p

Fig. 5 isv a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line5--5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5A is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 5A-5A ofFig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an elevational View taken partially in vertical section;

Fig. 7 is an outside elevational view showing an alternativeconstruction; and

Fig. 8 is a side elevational view taken from the left in Fig. 7

For purposes of disclosure the invention is ,;herein illustrated asembodied in a foot-operated starter mechanism 20 that is shown in Figs.1 and 2 as incorporated in a power unit 2|. This power unit in many ofits details is like the unit illustrated in my copending application,Serial No. 183,177, filed September 5, 1950,'and referonce may be-had tosuch copending application for details of the structure, mounting andarrangement of such power unit. It may be noted, however, that the powerunit 2| is utilized to drive a wheel such as the front wheel F'W, and asdisclosed in my aforesaid copending application, this wheel FW ismounted on an axle 23 that is carried on and extends laterally in onedirection from a centerstrut 25, This center strut is arranged asdisclosed in such copending application for mounting in the steeringcolumn of a tricycle or bicycle so that the wheel FW constitutes adriven front wheel for such tricycle or bicycle.- The center strut 25serves also as a mounting for the other elements of the power unit 21,.and this power unit 2| includes an internal combustion engine 21E havinga crank case 210, one wall of which is secured to the opposite side ofthe center strut 25 as disclosed in said copending application.

The internal combustion engine 21E? acts to drive a crank shaft 2 IAthat is located in a transmission housing 28 that is formed in part by awall of the crank case 21A and in part by extensions of such crank-case.Within the transmission housing 28, a primary centrifugal clutch 29 ismounted and this primary clutch is disclosed in detail in my copendingapplication, Serial No. 239,789, filed August 1, 1951. Such primaryclutch 29 includes a driven member 29D that includes a sprocket 30, andthis sprocket is driven from the crank shaft 2 IA by means including asprocket 3! on the crank shaft 21A and interconnecting chain 32. Theprimary clutch 29 also includes a driven member 29M that is mounted onan output shaft 35 and this output shaft serves to drive a centrifugallycontrolled change-speed mechanism 36, the output element of whichincludes a sprocket 31. Such sprocket 31 is connected by a chain 38 to asprocket 39 that is mounted on and fixed to the front wheel FW so thatthe internal combustion engine 2 IE may serve through the clutch 29 andthe change-speed transmission 36 to drive the front wheel FW. It

is to be noted that the change-speed mechanism 36 and its functioning inthe complete transmission between the engine HE and the wheel FW aredisclosed in detail in my copending application Serial No. 239,788,filed August 1, 1951.

As will be observed in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 6 of the drawings, thetransmission housing 28 includes a wall 28W on th right hand sidethereof as viewed in Fig. 2 and, this wall 28W serves as a mounting fora stub shaft upon which the driven element 29D of the clutch 29 ismounted;

This shaft 49 is supported in the wall 28W by a ball bearing 4| asherein shown, and the outer end of the shaft 40 projects to the right inFig. 2 beyond the bearing 40 so as to afford a connection forassociation with the starter 20 of the present invention.

In affording the starter 20, a supplemental housing 01' starter housing'55'i's afforded, this housing being generally cup-shaped in form toafford an outer wall a generally annular side wall 52 and an annularmounting flange 53 at the left hand of the side wall 52 as viewed inFig. 2. This annular mounting flange 53 is adapted to bear against aseparate mounting plate 54 that is secured against the outer side of thewall MW in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the shaft 40, as shownin Fig. 2, the supplemental mounting plate 54 is spaced somewhat fromthe wall 28W by spacer pads 55. The plate 54 serves of course to afforda mounting for the flange 53, and while said mounting is afforded byseparate elements in the present instance, the requisite mountingsurfaces may of course be afforded by integral portions of the wall 28W.It will be observed that the flange 53 is bolted in position by means ofcap screws 51, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, such cap screws extendingthrough the flange 53, the plate 54 and being threaded into the pads 55.In the present instance such pads 55 are provided at but two points,above and below the axis of the shaft 40, and throughout other portionsof the periphery of the flange 53, additional screws 58 are extendedthrough the flange 53 and threaded into the plate 54, thereby to affordan oil-tight seal for the left hand end of the housing 50.

Th other or right hand end wall 5! of the housing 59 has an elongatedbearing sleeve 60 formed integral therewith, and this sleeve as shown inFig. 2 extendsinwardly of the wall 5| as at 65L and extends outwardly ofthe wall 5| as at 59R. Within the sleeve 60, an additional bearingsleeve BI is mounted to afford a bearing for a starter shaft 65 which atits inner or left hand end, as viewed in Fig. 2, is abutted with orlocated closely adjacent the right hand end of the shaft 45, these twoshafts being in axial alignment. At its outer or right hand end, asviewed in Fig. 2, the shaft 65 has a starter crank 66 secured thereto sothat by operation of the crank 66, rotative movements may be imparted 4to the starter shaft 65. In the present instance, this crank 66 has anouter arm 61 which carries a resilient engagement sleeve 68 that may beengaged by the foot of an operator to impart rocking movement to thecrank 66. At its radially inner end, the crank 66 has asplit mountingcollar or fork 69 that surrounds the shaft 65. and a clamping bolt iutilized to secure the crank 65 onto the shaft 65 in the desired angularposition.

Within the starter housing 50, ratchet and pawl mechanism is providedfor releasably connecting the starter shaft 65 with the transmissionshaft 40 so that rotative starting movement may be imparted to the shaft40 through actuation of the starter shaft 65. In affording such ratchetand pawl mechanism, a ratchet wheel is fixed on the inner end of thestarter shaft 65, and in the present instance this is accomplished bybrazing the ratchet wheel 15 to the shaft 65 as indicated at 16. On theshaft a disc His mounted by means of a mounting sleeve I8 whichsurrounds the shaft and the sleeve 18 is keyed to the shaft wasindicated at 18.

The disc H is located closely adjacent to the ratchet' 'wheel 75 in anaxial sense, and on the side of the disc 71 that is adjacent to theratchet wheel 75 a pair of pawls 80 are pivotally mounted by pivot studs8|.

The radially outer faces of the pawls 80 have longitudinal grooves 806formed therein to receive and laterally position'a continuous annularspring 82- which is in the nature of an endless coil spring that iscontractile in character.

' Thus the spring 82 tends tom-aintain the teeth SGT in engagement withthe teeth 151 as will be evident in Fig. 5 of the drawings. It will beobserved that theleading edges of the teeth BOT that are remote from therespective pivots of the pawls are sloping in form as at 80S so that thestarting lever or arm 66 and the ratchet wheel 15 may, when desired, berotated in a reverse direction or clockwise direction in Fig. 5 so as tolocate such'arm in a position convenient for the application ofactuating forces thereto. It will be seen that after the starting lever66 has been positioned in such a location that it extends generallyupwardly, the operator may applya downward force thereto byfoot-actuation so as to rotate the ratchet wheel 15 in thecounterclockwise or starting direction that is indicated by the arrow inFig. 5 of the drawings. Such starting movement is of course transmittedto the pawls 80 since these pawls are, under such circumstances, engagedwith the teeth of the ratchet wheel 75, and hence the plate '11 and thetransmission shaft 40 will be given rotative motion in a forward orstarting direction so as to tend to start the motor ZIE. 'If the motor2|E starts properly upon such actuation, the shaft 40 will be driven inthe forward direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5 of the drawings,and in the initial period of such rotation, the surfaces 80S on thepawls will act to cam the pawls 80 out of the spaces between the teeth15T of the ratchet. As the speed of the disc 11 increases, thecentrifugal force acting on the pawls 80 will cause these pawls to shiftoutwardly against the action of the spring 82 and to the dotted linepositions indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. This rotative movement ofthe shaft 40 will serve to maintain the pawls 80 in theiroutward or in-'active position until such time as the engine 2 IE is stopped, and thepawls 89 will then be re-' sition after the starting operation has beenperformed, and this is in many instances considered to be satisfactory.In other instances however the user may desire to have the startinglever 66 located in an upwardly extending relationship such as thatshown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and in such an event means areafforded, as shown in Figs. 1 to 6 of the drawings, for returning thestarting lever 66 to such an upwardly extending position at theconclusion ofv a starting operation. In the form of the invention shownFigs. 1 to 6 of the drawings, such return means are afforded by a springarrangement that is housed within the starter housing 59. Thus, as shownparticularly in Figs. 2, 3 and 6, a torsion spring 90 is disposed withinthe housing 50 and about the bearing sleeve portion of this springextended radially outwardlyso as to engage a lug 9| that is formed onthe inner side of the wall of the housing 59 opposite the sleeve section60L. The other end 90-2 of the torsion spring 90 is arranged to act uponthe starter shaft 65 so as to urge the same in a return or reversedirection. In the present instance such association of the end 90-2 ofthe spring with the starter shaft is attained by means including awasher 93. This washer 93, as shown in Fig. 5A of the drawings has itsinner edge formed with teeth 93T that extend between and mesh with theteeth T of the ratchet wheel 15. This serves to rotatively interconnectthe ratchet wheel 15 with the washer 93, and at its outer edge, thewasher 93 has an ear 93E extended in a longitudinal direction therefrom,

such ear 93E being engaged by the end 99-2, Fig. 6. The washer 93 is inthe present instance guided and stabilized in its position by anadditional washer 94 that is disposed between the washer 93 and the endof the sleeve 60L.

With the construction thus afforded it will be observed that the torsionreturn spring 90 will act to return the arm 66 in a reverse directiontoward an upwardly extending relation, and the desired normal orupwardly extending position of the arm 66 is determined by stop meanswhich are disposed in the path of the arm 66. Such stopmeans arepreferably resilient in character so as to readily absorb the shock ofthe return movement, and such resiliency in the stop means 60L. One armor end 90-l- 6 take otherforms, as for example, as shown in Figs. 7 and8. In this form, the return spring 90 and the cushioning or abutmentspring 98 are eliminated, and the arm 66 is positioned in the is ofspecial advantage in the event that the engine backfires and impartsunduly fast return or reverse movement to the arm 66. Thus in thepresent instance the stop means are afforded by one end 98-I of arelatively heavy torsion spring 98 that surrounds the sleeve section R.The other end 98-2 of the torsion spring 98 is anchored to the starterhousing 50 which in the present instance has a lug 99 formed thereonjust below the sleeve section 60R. This lug has an axial bore 992 formedtherein, and the end 98-2 of the torsion spring extends into this bore.It will be observed that end 98-4 extends in a generally horizontaldirection above the axis of the sleeve 60R as will be evident in Figs. 4and 6 and the arm 66 is arranged to engage the end 98-l when the arm 66reaches the desired upward or normal position.

The positioning means for the arm 66 may desired upwardly extendingrelation by means of counterweight I00. This counterweight is located atthe end of an arm lfil that is formed integrally with the clampingsection 69 that is used to'secure the arm 66 on the shaft 65. Theangular relation of the arms 86 and I0! serve in this'instance todetermine the normal position of the arm 66, as will be evident in Fig.8.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the presentinvention affords a highly efiicient kick or foot-powered starter forinternal combustion engines, and it will also be evident that thestarter mechanism of the present invention is simple in character and isadapted for convenient and efiicient association with the powertransmission mechanism of a power unit.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodimentsof my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable ofvariation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited tothe precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of suchchanges and alterations as fall within the purview of the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. A starter assembly comprising a first rotatable shaft having amanually operable lever means attached to one end thereof and a ratchetmeans attached to the other end thereof, a driving means having anintegral disc portion adjacent said ratchet means, a pawl mounted onsaid disc on the side thereof facing toward said ratchet means, saidpawl being pivotally mounted on said disc for pivotal movement relativethereto, means urging said pawl into engagement with said ratchet meansand being ineffective at predetermined speeds of said driving meanswhereby said pawl is centrifugally disengageable from said ratchetmeans, a housing for said shafts, a first abutting means carried by saidfirst rotatable shaft, a second abutting means fixed to said housinginternally thereof, a third abutting means fixed to said housingexternally thereof and having a portion against which said lever meansis adapted to bear, and spring means held under compression between saidfirst and second abutting means to normally cause said lever means tobear against said third abutting means in position to be actuated.

2. A starter assembly comprising a first rotatable shaft having amanually operable actuating lever secured to one end thereof and aratchet means secured to the other end thereof, a second rotatable shaftadapted to be connected rotatably with the first shaft, a pawl carriedby the second shaft so as to be rotatable therewith and mounted thereonfor pivotal movement toward and away from engaging relation with saidratchet to thereby couple said first and second shafts, means urgingsaid pawl into engagement with said ratchet and being ineffective at apredetermined speed of said second shaft whereby said pawl iscentrifugally disengageable from said ratchet, a housing arranged aboutsaid shafts, a first abutting means carried by said first shaft so as tobe rotatable therewith internally of said housing, a second abuttingmeans carried by said housing internally thereof, a torsion springarranged. about a portion of said housing and havmg one end disposed inposition to afford a yieldable stop for said manually operable lever tolocate the same in an actuating position, and a second spring compressedbetween said first and second abutting means with the ends thereofbearing against said first and second abutting means to thereby causesaid lever to bear against said yieldable stop.

3. .A starter assembly according to claim 2 in which the said means forurging the pawl into engagement with the ratchet is in the form :of anannular contractile spring arranged in a longitudinal groove in the backof the pawl, and in which said housing includes a bearing sleeve.concentric to said shafts, :said torsion spring and,

References Cited'in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 10Number Name Date Jimerson Dec. 12, 1944

